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The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to form a parliament committee to investigate the entire issues surrounding cooperatives. The seven-member panel will probe into 29 cooperatives.

Kathmandu: The ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday signed a four-point agreement on terms of reference of the high-level parliamentary panel to investigate cooperatives scam.

In a meeting of the task force to form a house panel, major political parties agreed that the probe panel will investigate the entire problems surrounding a total of 29 cooperatives. The panel will submit its findings to the government in three months, leaders who attended the meeting told The DMN News.

The seven-member probe panel will have representation of five parties–the Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), CPN (Maoist), Rastriya Swatantra Party, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

The Nepali Congress, the largest party and the main opposition, had been obstructing both houses of federal parliament—the House of Representatives and the National Assembly–demanding Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane be probed in a cooperative scam. It had said that House proceedings would not run until the government agrees to investigate the scam by including the name of DPM Lamichhane.

However, the main opposition became flexible in its demands as they penned down an agreement to form a panel without including Lamichhane’s name in the terms of reference (ToR) of the probe committee.

The main opposition has been accusing Lamichhane of embezzling a huge amount of funds from cooperatives in Butwal, Chitwan, Pokhara and Kathmandu.

The agreement comes hours before the budget presentation at a joint session of federal parliament.  Finance Minister Barsaman Pun is scheduled to present the annual budget for the next fiscal year on Tuesday. 

The main opposition had also warned to obstruct the budget presentation if the government is rigid in fulfilling their demands.

According to Ramesh Lekhak, whip of Nepali Congress, the house panel will investigate all the issues surrounding cooperatives. “A session of the House of Representatives today will endorse the formation of the parliamentary committee. Prior to this, Nepali Congress will recommend the names of lawmakers to be included in the committee,” he said.

The panel will include two lawmakers each from Nepali Congress and CPN (UML), and one each from CPN (Maoist), Rastriya Swatantra Party, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

As per the agreement, the panel will provide recommendations on ‘the crisis observed in cooperative institutions, the associated legal and institutional purposes, and the regulation, supervision, and transparency of the financial system.’

Likewise, it will make recommendations regarding measures to protect the savings of depositors in troubled cooperative institutions, and to facilitate the quick and easy return of savings that are at risk or have been misused.

Similarly, the panel will study to resolve the problems in cooperative institutions, including those mentioned in the ToR. 

The panel will also investigate cooperatives involved with Gorkha Media Network, television owned by infamous GB Rai.